Ethan Gaskill

Ethan is a founder, creator, and creative—building worlds across scent, interiors, and brand. He believes our best ideas are revealed to us when we orbit in spaces of safety and beauty. It’s a sense of meditative quiet Ethan holds close—a space to wonder, imagine, create. You know how you get your best ideas in the shower? Ethan chases that state of mind, and he’s curious about how his art can facilitate others to do the same.

Escapism conceived his brand, Elsewhere Fragrances. More than just a scent brand, Ethan set out to build a world speaking to imagination and memory. Ethan’s most expansive worlds are the ones he turns inward to find. A self-described homebody, Ethan describes how his background in film and photography, especially in the horror genre, has influenced the viscerally visual world he has created through scent. As a social media creator and business founder, he discusses the challenge of treading the line between a fast-paced media landscape and the slowness he wants to embody with his brand.

My conversation with Ethan left me thinking about the world I want to inhabit, both conceptually and literally. Ethan is curious about how that evolves, and how his work might reflect that. In a world that prioritises efficiency and output, Ethan’s world feels radical and slow, encouraging you to savour every moment.

To begin, what are three things you’re really into right now?
Home. I am a homebody. I travelled so much last year, so being here at home has felt really good. I have also been practising making my own cold brew. I’ve also been buying a lot of incense recently.

I had the best time scrolling through the candle names and their scent profiles on Elsewhere Fragrances. They are very specific. What struck me most was that they weren’t just specific scents. They really invoke an overall sensory familiarity. How did you come up with these?
I went to school for film, so I've always really loved things that give you an experience and tell a story. During the pandemic, I was looking for a creative outlet to tell stories, but different from anything I've done before. I’ve always loved scent. I’ve also always been a homebody, so the combination of all those things led me to explore candles and fragrances.

I wanted to do it in an unorthodox way that would tell a story. I have a restless mind, and I'm really curious. I don't ever want to be pigeonholed into one thing, but with fragrance, there were so many places to explore. We all have very specific scent-based memories, so I just started thinking about all the different things in my life that were meaningful or have stuck with me. “Eden” is a scent inspired by the Garden of Eden. I grew up in a really religious area, so I heard a lot about those stories, the beginning of time, and what that garden would have been. I always loved the smell of dirt–I used to garden with my mom when I was younger.

“Country Club" is a replica of a theatre that I went to as a kid. That smell of old carpet–rich, dense, heavy velvet curtains from the stage. Memories are also always malleable, so I applied that to the idea of a country club in the 50s and 60s and what that might smell like. So it’s all these different memories I've held onto that have inspired each scent.

Some of them are a little more abstract. One is inspired by space. Obviously, I've never been to space, so I can only imagine what that might smell like. It’s fun to get abstract with it and imagine.

What do you think space smells like?
They actually say space smells like a cold rock and a frozen berry. There’s a tart, berry, icy essence to it. But when I see the night sky and the stars, there's an effervescence. It feels like it would be sparkly, so the scent has a cola note. It’s called “Astral.” But we also like the idea of headspace, and a head high. There’s this sort of sugary, cola, effervescent quality to the scent. It’s a really unique one. As you can tell, I love fragrance because it’s so imaginative, and you can do anything with it.

Have any memories returned to you in the process of creating these scents and the world they inhabit?
The most personal one is our scent “Gospel.” It’s inspired by where I grew up in North Carolina. It was essentially a beach town, but anything ten to twenty minutes outside of that is very country. There are a lot of churches, convenience stores, and nothingness. That’s how it feels. “Gospel” is inspired by growing up in that environment. It’s quite literally where I grew up. It’s also a very particular story you’d appreciate if you spent an extended period of time in those areas.

I shot the visuals for that one myself. The other ones were done by someone here in LA. She’s a location scout in the film world, and she shot all of this on film and VHS. But for “Gospel,” I went home to shoot everything myself. It was fun to have such creative control over everything. I picked out the models, directed the visuals, and designed the set.

There’s this sense of nostalgia, perhaps for something familiar, or something we’ve never actually experienced. This is what I think the brand does so well. What was the moment for you that sparked the idea of creating your own fragrance brand?
I’ve always loved products. I’d be twelve years old in the drugstore with my mom, looking for serums for my face. I’ve always loved things that work, that are beautiful, or make your space beautiful. I find the consumer experience really intriguing, and I love things that are nicely made.

I was working in marketing while developing the brand idea. I worked with consumer brands and ran their social media presence. At the same time, TikTok was emerging. I learned a lot about marketing. You can have the best strategy on earth, but if the product itself isn’t great, there’s only so much you can do. I just kept thinking to myself, I’ve had so much experience working to push these products on behalf of other people, so what if I did it myself? I took inspiration from film, photography, and marketing, and channelled it into my own company.

The future was very uncertain with COVID. I didn’t know what to expect, and life is short, so I took the risk. I literally took all the money that I had and invested it in the branding agency. I knew branding was one of the most important things, especially for a luxury scented product. No one will really know what it smells like, so you have to sell them on the story. The visuals had to be good. People have to buy into the memory or story you’re selling.

What do you find most challenging or demanding about building this world in a reality that is increasingly removed from presence and intention?
One of the key brand themes is escapism, which has been a common theme in my life. From a tangible, creating-the-product perspective…there’s never been more fragrance brands. There's never been more candles and beauty brands. Everything is emerging so fast. As someone who really knows the space and consumes a lot of products, I knew it needed to feel up to par with all these other brands. I self-funded the whole thing, and, at the time, I was not making much money, so I had to be very resourceful.

It’s incredibly hard as a startup brand to find a perfumer who knows what they’re doing and who can actually create a custom formulation without charging an insane amount of money. Because of our specificity, there was no way we could do that. I actually tried making my own stuff at the beginning. I was like, “I might be a storyteller and a marketer, but I’m not a perfumer.” [laughs] But when I moved to LA, I got connected with a perfumer here, and fell in love with her, and her work. She ended up custom-creating all the scents for us.

There are so many brands in our world, and meaningful things are becoming so few and far between. Craftsmanship is going out the door; everyone is trying to churn things out at the speed of light. I’ve always wanted the brand to force people to slow down and savour. The brand is also quite niche. Not everyone will want a candle that smells like rural America or space, so anyone who takes their time to appreciate a product like this will slow down to appreciate the details.

I feel very strongly against the use of AI for any form of replacing creative jobs. The website copy is done by copywriters. Photography is all done by ourselves. It’s all done by real people. I think ultimately, real people connect with real people. That’s something I will hold on to as tightly as I can, for as long as I can.

When you were talking about slowing down to appreciate things, I was thinking about how I personally love old cathedrals and castles. I’m not religious, but that architecture was designed to force you to slow down and appreciate it. That kind of artistry is something we don’t make space for anymore.
Yes! Those spaces are so beautiful, and even if you aren’t religious, there’s no way you can’t acknowledge how beautiful the artistry and ceremony of it all is. It holds so much meaning, and I think people really do yearn for that. I know I do.

But as time goes on, we’re replacing things for the sake of profit or efficiency. I know the pendulum in so many areas of life swings from one way to the other. I’m just hoping and praying it swings back to people slowing down, investing, and savouring things. We are not meant to digest so much information and then just live life with such a “use it and throw it away” type of mentality. It sounds so hypocritical, considering I am also a content creator who works with brands. I have to really check myself and make sure the brands I’m working with align with my thoughts and morals. Also, I keep in mind that when you build an audience, people listen to you. I think influence is a really special thing. I want to make sure I’m using it for good. Being a voice that holds meaning is really important.

It’s interesting you're building a brand that forces people to slow down, but your work on social media is dependent on that attention economy. Is that dynamic challenging to manage? How do you keep that balance?
It’s very challenging. Many of my peers and friends who are also content creators post nine times a day. My brain is just not wired to do that. I used to really beat myself up because, I think, coming from a film background, I love making sure every element feels right and good. I want what I put out to feel authentic and shot beautifully. But it’s really hard to do that at scale, so working in social media has been very beneficial in the sense of letting go of control, learning to be more flexible with how I show myself and share ideas, and the things I feel.

Social media is constantly evolving. It demands you show up all the time, on so many different platforms. You can feel the pressure to be everywhere. But also, as time has gone on, I’ve stuck true to filming and showing up in the way that is most sustainable for me.

I don’t think I’ll ever be a content creator with millions of followers, but I’m okay with that because I also don’t want my brand to be the chain that shows up everywhere for the most accessible price in every place. I think when you have that sentiment of building something of quality, it’s hard to mass-produce it. I’ve tried to force myself to be like that before, and I always end up burnt out or unsatisfied with the product.

What learnings stand out to you, working in such an interdisciplinary way?
I’ll never start a brand by myself. [laughs] I will never, ever. Just because you think you can do it all does not mean you should. It is so important to trust and let go of the process. When I launched, I was packing every order myself. I was handwriting notes on every order. It just got to a point where I was so burnt out. I could not keep up while also doing social media. Even if you have the best ideas in the world or you have the most energy, collaboration is so important. It’s really great to bring in people who are better than you are, and to trust them.

Similarly, you should never compromise your value or quality for the sake of getting something out there. There were a lot of times when people would tell me, “Just launch, just put it out, it’s good enough.” But there’s no real rush for that. Everything I do is meant to be slow. I think long-term about it, and I’d like it to be timeless. That really requires trusting yourself and knowing what feels right. When you bring people in to work with you, it really alleviates a lot of the questions and mistakes. Asking for help has been a lesson not just in work but in my personal life, too.

How does your background in film, a medium that depends heavily on sight, impact the way you create scent, a medium that invokes other senses?
Earlier, I mentioned that I’ve always been obsessed with experiences. When I was little, I was obsessed with haunted houses, and those 3D theatres where the seats would move and splash water on you. It’s sort of translated to me building these brands that feel really immersive. I’ve always loved storytelling. I am into horror; it’s my favourite genre. It’s one of my favourite things, ever, period.

When you asked me about my three favourite things, my thought was, “horror.” Honestly, it’s been a really big influence on my brand. I love darkness. I love things that feel a little bit weird. That’s why we have gasoline or dirt very gently laced into the scents. Obviously, it’s never so literal, but it’s so slight that it’s almost subconscious.

I just do things very holistically. I love being able to have a hand in developing the scent, but I also love that we’ve got really beautiful narratives with every scent and the visuals. My experience in film and photography has taught me about lighting and colour. Now, of course, as a content creator, I work with a lot of brands, and I see a lot of things that I think are done really well, and things that aren’t done well. It allows me to have an even more well-rounded view of the world I’m trying to create, the products I’m trying to put out, and what I feel good about putting my name on.

What is it about horror that you love?
I think it’s one of the most captivating film genres ever. I love things that are really polarising. It’s the movie genre version of a rollercoaster. Horror is an experience. Being in an ice-cold theatre, eating popcorn, and reacting together has always been something I love. The ambience is of top importance. I love when homes are really dimly lit and cosy, and there’s a fireplace crackling. In horror films, they almost always centre around beautiful, comforting towns, and then a murder happens.

I got into photography because I didn’t have the resources to create my own horror films, but I could pick up a camera and take moody photos. When it came time for Elsewhere, and we were deciding logos and fonts, we wanted the imagery to lean a little into the horror element without taking it so literally.

I didn’t catch that initially, but I see it now! Horror is such a fascinating genre, I really want to be into it, but I’m just scared of a scary movie. [laughs]
I love when they’re made by directors who have such a sharp eye for cinematography, lighting, and colours. I obviously love a movie like Scream, a fun, stupid slasher film. But I also love films like Suspiria. It’s literally art. It’s so stunning. I love Hereditary. I think Ari Aster is one of the most talented directors in the world of horror, but honestly, just in general right now. I probably will get back into film at some point. Actually, as the years have been going by, it’s nagging at me more and more to dip my toes back into that space.

You have to do it!
It’s always in the back of my mind.

What is your favourite world, say a book, film, show, that someone else has created that you like escaping to?
That’s a really great question. Ethel Cain comes to mind immediately. There is beautiful artistry with dark, unsettling, horrific elements. It’s also so cool that she grew up in the south and is queer, and there are so many little elements in her work that I’m just like, “You’re speaking directly to my soul.” She’s built such a world with her music. It’s so refreshing. I feel like every pop star is working with the same producers, and songs hold very little meaning. All the songs are starting to sound the same. Also, so many artists are making TikTok songs. They’ll tease one little chorus, whereas Ethel Cain will have like a 14-minute song. She doesn’t care how long or short people’s attention spans are. It doesn’t really matter because her work is so entrancing and so imbued with meaning. She’s producing it, she’s writing it, she’s singing it, she’s so in the process, and it really shows through. There’s no one else like her right now.

She created music because she wanted to make her own film, kind of the same way that I got into photography and then built a fragrance brand. So she started doing music and telling that story. I think, eventually, her goal is to create a film. I connect with her artistry more than anyone right now.

It’s my favourite thing when musicians make a world within the album. I was thinking about Hanako Footman, who wrote my favourite book of last year, Mongrel. She also said the book came about because she didn’t have the resources to make her own film.
Wait, you mentioned that you love cathedrals and castles. Have you ever read any of Ottessa Moshfegh’s books?

I haven’t!
You need to look into Lapvona. It takes place in what she describes as a dark fairytale, but it’s essentially set in medieval times. It kind of reads like an A24 film. Her work is very tart, witty, funny, visceral, and gruesome. But you’re laughing and then squirming the next second. Her work is so good. She’s another artist that I love so much. I’ve read almost all of them.

I need to look into it! I’d also love to hear what role escapism plays in your creative process.
For inspiration, people often look outside of themselves. There’s so much inspiration out in the world, which I love, but I also find that my most original or unique ideas come from within. Escapism is almost always an internal world experience for me. I love daydreaming. I’ve also really gotten into meditation and breath work. I’ll be driving with the music off in silence for thirty minutes or in the shower, and the most brilliant ideas arise. I’m always coming out of the shower and running to write things down in my notes. I know everyone says that.

It’s the ritualistic aspect of it, isn’t it?
Yeah, I think a big piece of it, too, is that we live in a time where it’s so hard to escape the noise, and so if you take it upon yourself to just be in silence, something has to fill the space. That’s when your thoughts have time to breathe a little bit. I think that’s where escapism has always played a role in my creative process. It's like giving myself permission to be in silence and let the ideas come.

But I also think watching a movie or listening to an album is escapism. You have to give yourself permission to really sit with yourself and with the art. A big thing for me is turning off my phone and getting off my laptop.

I’d say the through line of your interdisciplinary work is intention and storytelling. But I’m curious to hear what you, as the creator, see as the through line?
If I had to describe everything that I’ve ever done, there’s probably a sense of curiosity about it. And a little bit of nostalgia. I never like things to feel too new, fresh, or clean. I also lean into rich, dark warmth.

I would say there’s a sense of playfulness as well.
Yeah, for sure. I am learning to lean into that a little more. Sometimes I’ll wear a stripe and be like, “This is too much.” I never want to get tired of things, and I feel like the more distinct something is, the easier it can get tired of it. But I’ve gotten a lot more confidence as a creator and learned to trust my instincts when it comes to taking a risk.

For me, that ideal “elsewhere” changes depending on which phase of life I’m in. Where is your ideal “elsewhere” in this current moment of your life?
My ideal “elsewhere” is a beautiful cabin out on a lake. It’s quiet. There are mountains, and it’s grey and drizzling. I’m having coffee. I don’t think I could ever be happier than in that environment. I’d have a fireplace burning in the background. That’s where I always am, mentally. I mean, here in LA it’s sunny all the time, and never really fireplace weather.

It’s so funny because I live in London, so my perfect escapism is summer, the beach, and the sun. It’s always cold here; it’s the reverse.
We’re always yearning for what we don’t have! But I also love LA. This city has my heart; it’s so beautiful, and I’m so inspired by the architecture. I grew up on the East Coast, so I love every day that is beautiful and sunny. We can always count on the weather being perfect.

What’s keeping you curious right now?
I think, honestly, my age. I’m turning 32 this year, and I’m out of my 20s. I’ve had a really wild trajectory in my life and career. I’ve been to a lot of different places. Just being 30, and seeing everywhere I’ve been, I’m like, “Whoa, what’s next?” I don’t really know, and the one thing I love about LA is that you start to believe that anything and everything is possible. You see people here living the wildest lives, doing the craziest jobs. Being here has given me the confidence that I actually can do it if I want to, even if I don’t know what that is yet. I’m excited about the potential. I know the best is yet to come.